Eyes of the Blood Moon

Remember We Are Dust

Ella woke with a jolt, sitting upright in her chair at the table. She removed a file that had been stuck to the side of her face as she glanced out the window, the sun had set.

Her laptop screen lit up her face as she sat in confusion for a second, before realizing what had happened.

She'd fallen asleep in the middle of her research. Last night she had seen a sight she never thought she could've, and had been working furiously all day trying to connect the dots.

There were so many loose ends on Crocket and now, she was more than ever determined to solve it. The random predator showing up out of nowhere, Monsignor Pruitt mysteriously gone and no ones heard from him, Father Paul showing up and being to only person to ever have contact with Pruitt, his illness, and Joe Collie's murder. So far, she'd only found one thing. Monsignor Pruitt, and Father Paul were the same person. The news had hit her hard, Pruitt had been a mentor to her, and yes when she was younger she admired him, but now he's come back as if he's 30? And she fell for him? Pruitt being alive and young again, only raised more questions. What's his connection to the creature, and what is it. She'd been digging around all day to find anything that eats blood out of the neck, can't go in daylight, and heals tissue and wounds at a faster pace than normal. But there was nothing but old myths.

She was never one to disprove myths, she would always secretly hope there was something more out there, but she couldn't bring herself to believe Paul was a vampire.

She spent all day trying to piece it together, and the only conclusion was that Paul never really loved her. He had just been using her. This betrayal hit the hardest. She honestly didn't care if he was Pruitt, sure it was a little weird, but she'd barely knew Pruitt. He had dementia and he never seemed fully present when you would talk to him. But Paul... she loved Paul. He was the first person she ever cared to love and now she knew why she never did before.

He was a monster. Someone who used her, and murdered Joe. Someone who brought a living hell to the island she loved, and put everyone here in danger, including herself. She was never anything to him and she knew that now.

She wiped the tear slowly falling down her face, the sting of the feeling of crying burning behind her nose as she cleared her throat. She closed her laptop and decided to take her mind off of planning, and give her brain a rest by taking a shower.

Just as she neared the bathroom a horrible feeling came over her gut as the realization hit her like a truck. Tonight was AA. Joe wasn't there, but Riley would be. And he would be alone, with Paul.

Her heart sank as she wondered if it was too late, it would've been over by now, but she couldn't help but feel something bad coming.

Ella sprinted back down the hall and out the front door. The night was cold, a freezing wind whipped all around her face but she didn't stop. She pushed her legs on through the dark street, praying all the while she wasn't too late.

The gravel flew behind her as she kicked up dust. The church came into view and the rec centre just behind it.

The door was wide open, a small pool of light flooding out. That wasn't normal, and her heart began to race faster, as well as her legs.

She stumbled through the door, her breath catching in her throat, as she tried to take in deep gulps of air. It reminded her of when she was in the hospital, not being able to keep the air in.

She looked up, the bright lights blinding her.

After she got a steady flow of oxygen again, her vision returned to normal, as her eyes focused on Father Paul, kneeling on the ground. His eyes filled with terror at the sight of her.